Clair W. Perry’s Short Story, ‘Faithful to the End’

A young man on his way to war promises to be faithful to a young lady he’s never met.

“La Belle Dame sans Merci,” 1893, by John William Waterhouse. Oil on canvas; 44 inches by 31 4/5 inches. A young man promises to be faithful in Clair W. Perry's short story. Public Domain

A promise is unlike other spoken words: It binds the promiser and the promised in a bond that isn’t lightly broken.

In his short story, “Faithful to the End,” Clair W. Perry contemplates the significance and power of a simple promise. Perry writes of a young soldier who makes a promise to a strange girl. Though it was made in haste, the promise creates a powerful bond between the two, which the war threatens to tear asunder.

Promises Made

World War I rages and Lt. Topham, a commander in the 10th London Reservists, was charged with loading airplanes for transport from England to France.